Written Answers Monday 20 April 2009

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned about the consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages and their effect on drinkers’ behaviour and, if so, what action it intends to take.

Shona Robison: Research on the effect of mixing caffeine and alcohol is limited and inconclusive. The Scottish Government considers that the main issue is not the consumption of particular drinks or drink combinations but the sheer volume of alcohol that is being consumed in Scotland. Consumption has risen by almost 19% since 1980.

  That is why on 2 March we published our Framework for Action on Alcohol (Bib. number 47805) which contains a package of both long and short-term measures which together can deliver a sustainable change in Scotland’s relationship with alcohol.

Alcohol Misuse

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of alcohol poisoning there were in the Lothians in 2008, broken down by hospital.

Shona Robison: The data for calendar year 2008 is not currently available. The latest available provisional information is for year ending 31 March 2008.

  The number of discharges for alcohol poisoning in acute hospitals treated in NHS Lothian in 2007-08 are as follows. These figures may include some patients who may be resident elsewhere.

  

 Hospital
 2007-08


 Western General Hospital
 x


 Royal Hospital for Sick Children
 x


 St John’s Hospital At Howden
 x


 Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France
 1,101


 Total
 1,338



  Notes:

  1. x Indicates the number is not shown as either the number is too minimal or is to mask another number to prevent disclosure.

  2. Information Services Division have recently held an in-depth review of its core alcohol-related code set, therefore these figures may not be directly comparable with previously published figures.

Autism

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are specific standards for the education of children with an autistic spectrum disorder and, if so, how these standards are monitored.

Adam Ingram: There are no specific standards for the education of children with additional support needs including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Under section 2 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 education authorities are required to secure that education is directed to the development of the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of the child or young person to their fullest potential. This applies to all children including those with ASD.

  Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) inspects provision for ASD as part of its general inspection activity. The quality of educational provision for children with autism spectrum disorders is, therefore, subject to the same rigour and scrutiny as that applied to all children and young people.

  Any good practice which is identified whilst inspecting provision for ASD is posted on the HMIE website and is designed to help establishments to continuously improve and aspire to the best of practice for these children and young people.

  As a result of a request from Scottish ministers, HMIE carried out a specific task to evaluate and report on the educational provision for pupils with ASD. A report of the review’s findings together with a literature review was published in October 2006. The report is used by the educational community to improve services to children and young people.

  On 3 April 2009, the Scottish Government launched The Autism Toolbox: An Autism Resource for Scottish Schools. This provides support and guidance to educational establishments to promote and develop high standards of provision for pupils with ASD.

Care of Elderly People

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to extend free personal care for day care users.

Nicola Sturgeon: The free personal care policy was introduced to benefit people aged 65 and over receiving care in their own home or in a care home. Services are provided without charge to those assessed as requiring them at home. On the basis of an assessment of need, weekly payments of £153 for personal care and £69 for nursing care are available to people who meet their own care costs in care homes. There are no plans to extend this general provision to other care groups. For people under the age of 65, two forms of support are provided. Nursing care payments are available to care home residents who fully fund their care home costs, and people who have dementia or any other degenerative illness who require care, and who live in their own homes, can claim Disability Living Allowance. People over the age of 65 who attend day care services may be eligible for free personal care at home and Attendance Allowance.

Development

Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what engagement it has had with the Scottish Renaissance Town movement.

John Swinney: We are not directly engaged with the Scottish Renaissance Town initiative, but Architecture and Design Scotland, a non-departmental public body funded by the Scottish Government, is a partner in the initiative.

Diabetes

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16946 by Shona Robison on 5 November 2008, what progress is being made by the Scottish Public Health Network in considering early intervention to prevent the onset of diabetes.

Shona Robison: The needs assessment of Type 2 diabetes being undertaken by the Scottish Public Health Network is focussing on prevention and screening, including the optimal screening tool which should be used. It is also considering interventions to prevent or delay diabetes in people with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), about one-third of whom go on to develop Type 2 diabetes.

  Publication of the network’s report is expected in June 2009, and will be taken into account in the revision of the Diabetes Action Plan 2006.

Diabetes

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that more use could be made of the results of tests on patients, such as weight and body mass index, to identify those individuals most at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and, if so, what action it proposes to take.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is clear that being overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30kg/m 2 means people are at much greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Measurements such as body weight and BMI therefore have an important role to play in the detection of the condition.

  Actions include the "Keep Well" programme, which assess the risk of cardiovascular disease, including diabetes, among those aged 45 to 64 living in deprived communities. A range of initiatives relating to diet and physical activity is intended to tackle obesity, and is underpinned by the provision of information through the Scottish Nutrition and Diet Resources Initiative, some of which are written specifically for people at risk of cardiovascular disease.

Enterprise

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many companies and organisations with high growth potential it estimates there are in the Western Isles.

John Swinney: This information is not collated or routinely held by the Scottish Government. The Enterprise Agencies, in this case Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), are responsible for determining which businesses are considered to have high growth potential and the support they provide. In doing this, various factors are taken into account including potential revenue and employment, impact on the local economy, and market opportunity.

  HIE have advised the Scottish Government that they are currently developing relationships with 38 businesses and 24 social enterprises in the Western Isles which they believe have growth potential. This is a dynamic process and these numbers will fluctuate as markets change and new opportunities arise.

  HIE has published an Operating Plan 2008-11 which includes information on potential high growth businesses. The operating plan can be found at:

  http://www.hie.co.uk/HIE-Publications-2008/HIE%20Operating%20Plan%202008-11.pdf.

Equalities

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what parts of its single outcome agreement with Dumfries and Galloway Council make reference to equality and diversity issues.

Shona Robison: The single outcome agreements (SOA) reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes for each council and include relevant supporting indicators and targets. It is for each community planning partnership (CPP) to derive its local outcomes which should be drawn from an integrated profile of the social, economic and environmental conditions of the area concerned. In reaching agreement with CPPs on their single outcome agreement, the Scottish Government will be looking for evidence that local outcomes reflect an area’s strategic priorities and that they are capable of being linked to one or more of the National Outcomes.

  Copies of all 32 SOAs which were agreed with local authorities on 30 June 2008 can be obtained via the Improvement Service website by following the following link. CPPs will aim to publish revised single outcome agreements for 2009-10 at the beginning of June.

  http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,43/task,cat_view/gid,561/.

Finance and Sustainable Growth

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants worked in the Financial Partnerships Unit 12 months before it was disbanded, also broken down by pay grade.

John Swinney: There were six staff: one SCS, one C1, two B3s, one B1 and one A4.

Finance and Sustainable Growth

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants work in the Infrastructure Investment Unit, also broken down by pay grade.

John Swinney: There are three staff: one C1, one B3 and one B1.

Further Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students with speech and language difficulties attended further education colleges in 2008-09 and what proportion was included in mainstream vocational programmes.

Fiona Hyslop: This information is not held centrally.

Genealogy

Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Registration Office in Bellshill to have its family history section ready to go online.

John Swinney: The Registrar General has since end-2004 provided registration offices with access to birth, death and marriage records for the whole of Scotland, for the purpose of family history research as well as registration. He has discussed with North Lanarkshire Council the provision of more comprehensive family history information and a technical solution has been agreed that will enable the Bellshill family history section to open at a date of North Lanarkshire Council’s choosing.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is promoting patients’ self-referral to NHS physiotherapy services.

Nicola Sturgeon: Self referral to physiotherapy services are promoted by physiotherapists, community teams and through GP practices. However, we recognise that it is important that there should be a systematic approach to self-referral for physiotherapy services and work is in hand to develop this further. The centralised system, using the technologies of NHS 24, currently being piloted by NHS Lothian is considering how people access e-health and other services and work to implement the Framework for Adult Rehabilitation is also developing pathways to enable patients to access the services that they need.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons there is an 18-week waiting time target for consultant referrals for physiotherapy services but no such target for GP referrals or self-referrals.

Nicola Sturgeon: At present, there are no waiting times targets for access to physiotherapy services.

  The NHS in Scotland is working to achieve the Scottish Government’s target of a maximum waiting time of 18 weeks from referral to treatment by the end of 2011. Earlier this year, we published the 18 Weeks: The Referral to Treatment Standard – Principles and Definitions which was issued to NHS Boards. This guidance publication makes it clear that if a Consultant refers a patient to physiotherapy as an interim treatment, for example to alleviate pain, it will form part of that patient’s 18-weeks pathway. The guidance also states that whilst the 18-weeks standard does not cover community/GP referrals within the extended primary care team, NHS boards should ensure that all patients have rapid access to the most appropriate health care practitioners.

  Physiotherapists and other Allied Health Professionals are involved in delivering patient care and treatment which has helped to cut waiting times for patients across Scotland. Treatments can include triage, assessment and therapeutic interventions in both hospital and community settings, sometimes avoiding the need for consultant referrals. Allied Health Professionals therefore have an important role to play in delivering better, faster care in a variety of roles and settings.

Land Register

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many mapping errors have been made by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland in each year since 1999.

John Swinney: The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland issues a Land Certificate for all properties registered in the Land Register. The Land Certificate includes a plan showing the extent of the property’s title area on an Ordnance Survey map.

  The Keeper has provided the following information about mapping errors made by his department:

  

 Year
Number of Land Register Applications
 Number of Mapping Errors
Percentage%


 1999-2000
 173,512
 708
 0.41


 2000-01
 189,632
 659
 0.35


 2001-02
 243,580
 794
 0.33


 2002-03
 279,084
 894
 0.32


 2003-04
 342,408
 698
 0.20


 2004-05
 359,711
 741
 0.21


 2005-06
 370,340
 671
 0.18


 2006-07
 430,953
 625
 0.15


 2007-08
 438,005
 717
 0.16


 2008-09
 353,145
 763
 0.22

Land Register

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been received by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland for rectification of the Land Register of Scotland since 1999 and how many such applications were granted in each of those years.

John Swinney: The Keeper advises that he has considered and undertaken rectification of the Land Register as follows:

  

 Year
 Number of Land Register Applications
 Number of Applications for Rectification
 Number of Applications Granted


 2002-03*
 279,084
 443
 411


 2003-04
 342,408
 447
 423


 2004-05
 359,711
 378
 349


 2005-06
 370,340
 482
 454


 2006-07
 430,953
 426
 358


 2007-08
 438,005
 519
 452


 2008-09
 353,145
 588
 495



  Note: *The first year for which records are available.

Land Register

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many mapping errors affecting residential properties have been made by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland in each year since 1999.

John Swinney: The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland issues a Land Certificate for all properties registered in the Land Register. The Land Certificate includes a title plan showing the extent of the property’s area on an Ordnance Survey map.

  The keeper has provided the following information about mapping errors made by his department:

  

 Year
Number of Land Register applications
 Number of applications relating to residential property*
 Number of mapping errors relating to those residential properties
Percentage %


 1999-2000
 173,512
 166,051
 696
 0.42


 2000-01
 189,632
 181,478
 642
 0.35


 2001-02
 243,580
 233,106
 786
 0.34


 2002-03
 279,084
 267,083
 873
 0.33


 2003-04
 342,408
 327,684
 693
 0.21


 2004-05
 359,711
 344,243
 728
 0.21


 2005-06
 370,340
 354,424
 677
 0.19


 2006-07
 430,953
 412,422
 635
 0.15


 2007-08
 438,005
 419,171
 712
 0.17


 2008-09
 353,145
 344,316
 744
 0.22



  Note: *Based on Ordnance Survey’s MasterMap Address layer, which has 95.7% of Scottish addresses noted as residential.

Looked After Children

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend section 21 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to add registered social landlords to the list of those required to co-operate with local authorities.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government, in partnership with the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum held a seminar for local authorities on accommodation for care leavers on 1 April 2009. We are considering their feedback and next steps, including their views on this issue on how we can best support them to meet the accommodation needs of young people leaving their care.

Looked After Children

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek a power to order local authorities to fulfil their statutory duties in relation to care leavers.

Adam Ingram: We have no plans to seek such a power. The Social Work Inspection Agency undertakes inspections to improve the quality of social work services across Scotland, including examining the throughcare and aftercare services provided by local authorities. We are working in partnership with COSLA and local authorities to address the issues faced by young people leaving care.

Ministerial Engagements

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements have taken place since May 2007, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

John Swinney: The information sought could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

NHS 24

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how NHS 24 can be used to provide advice and access to physiotherapy services.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has been working closely with NHS 24 on a number of service developments including those related to physiotherapy. A telehealth physiotherapy triage and referral management pilot service has already been established by NHS 24 within NHS Lothian. The aim of this pilot is to reduce the waiting time for physiotherapy advice/management by providing earlier access to screening, advice and onward referral management. This pilot is currently being evaluated with a view to national roll out. Work is also underway with NHS 24 to identify what other services provided by the Allied Health Professions can be developed within NHS 24, including musculoskeletal, dietetics and mental health services.

NHS 24

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the NHS 24 website can be used to provide information and advice about physiotherapy.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has been working closely with NHS 24 on a number of service developments in relation to the Allied Health Professions. A collaboration has been established with the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives, NHS 24 and the Scottish Government to update the Working Backs Scotland website. A project manager has been employed by NHS 24 to carry out this work with a view to undertaking the development of other web-based information and advice sites within NHS 24.

NHS Hospitals

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospitals provide specific zones for patients’ mobile phone use, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for NHS Scotland bodies. The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees earn less than £7 per hour in each NHS board area within the Highlands and Islands parliamentary region.

Nicola Sturgeon: From 1 April 2009 only pay points 1 and 2 under the terms of the UK-wide Agenda for Change agreement fall bellow the rate of £7 per hour. Pay point 1 is £6.76 per hour and pay point 2 is £6.94 per hour. Both are significantly above the national minimum wage.

  Current numbers of employees receiving either pay point 1 or 2 within the Highlands and Islands Health Board areas are as follows:

  

 Health Board
Total No of Employees at 30.09.08
  (excl GPs and GDPs)
Number of Employees on Pay Points 1 and 2


 Highland
 8,825
 1,444


 Orkney
 587
 28


 Shetland
 569
 0


 Western Isles
 1,063
 64


 Total
 11,044
 1,536

Scottish Futures Trust

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people work in the Scottish Futures Trust, also broken down by pay grade.

John Swinney: Aside from the five Board members, there are currently eight staff working in the executive team on behalf of Scottish Futures Trust. Grading structures will be established once the newly appointed Chief Executive takes up post.

Scottish Futures Trust

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees there will be in the Scottish Futures Trust when it reaches full complement, also broken down by pay grade.

John Swinney: Staffing is a matter for the Scottish Futures Trust Board.

Scottish Futures Trust

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the functions of the (a) Infrastructure Investment Unit, (b) Scottish Futures Trust and (c) disbanded Financial Partnerships Unit.

John Swinney: The main functions of the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) are as follows:

  To act as a focal point in Scotland for action in infrastructure investment by bringing together public and private sectors, promoting and disseminating innovation, good practice, and experience and by pursuing value for money in infrastructure investment.

  To take forward the workstreams identified in the SFT Business Case.

  To use combinations of expertise, NPD structures, programme based delivery models, hybrid funding structures, underpinning and aggregation, to be an arranger of funding that is cheaper than PFI, taking into account all factors including risk and its allocation.

  During 2009-10 to develop proposals setting out how private investment might be channelled for Scottish infrastructure priorities – referred to in the Strategic Business Case as SFT Finance and Investment.

  The Infrastructure Investment Unit co-ordinates policy work on infrastructure investment within the Scottish Government. The other functions of the Financial Partnerships Unit have been absorbed by SFT as part of its wider responsibilities.